Don't be afraid to clean your pellet stove

[briansol]

I know its not required to clean the T monthy, but my stove runs WAY better when I do it. It only takes a few minuets and its worth it to me. The T is a bit of a traffic Jam, where horiz from the blower hits a hard left turn into gravity. I'm sure there's a swirl there of ash all the time blocking the exhaust from truly be free flowing.

 

[Augmister]

Jeez, I hope your pellets are less than 1% ash, nevermind 5%!

Thanks for catching my decimal point error!

 

[CenterTree]

Usually after 10 bags I'll take the brick plates off and get behind there with a shop vac. Clean the heat exchangers too...make sure the burn pot holes are cleaned out. Every ton I do the leaf blower ...

So , what is this "leaf blower trick" people have mentioned??

 

[Bioburner]

Electric leaf blower adapted to mount on exhaust to suck out ash etc. Pic posted shows carmels extracted from stove using blower.

 

[CenterTree]

Bioburner, thanks for the info. I see now.

Not sure if that would work with a gas powered unit as the "intake" opening is MUCH larger in diameter.




What's up with the caramels??

 

[Bioburner]

Customer complained of inoperable exhaust fan. Mouse had entered air intake and was storing Carmels from the candy bowl. First use of the blower. Impressed me and customer got a really clean stove. The total cost of blower and adapters from plumbing dept was around $50.

 

[BrotherBart]

Need you guys advice. I have the 25-PDVC on the thirty plus foot 5.5" liner in the basement. Only burned about a ton in it since I ain't down there much anymore. When I pulled the pipe out of the thimble it appears that most of the fly ash just collected in the 90 degree upturn in the liner and the tee on the back of the stove so I vac'ed it out. The liner looks like nothing ever burned in it.

The question is, since it is five feet from the basement door, if I attach the hose from my 6.5 horse Shop Vac to the combustion blower outlet with the vac sitting outside will I get most of the benefit of the leaf blower treatment? I have already vac'ed out the inside of the stove as much as I can.

 

[Bioburner]

IMO the vac is half or less then that of a leaf blower. I have a convertible shop vac with blower and it's nowhere near the $40 leaf blower. Takes a lot to suck the ash out of a open stove.

 

[BrotherBart]

Thanks. Something to consider since I have never done it. I was just figuring that connected directly to the combustion blower it would be more suction than the leaf blowers done from the top of chimneys I see. Why I asked.

 

[Vinelife]

Nice job on that leaf blower assembly. Mine was a little more difficult. It's a Craftsman and had to Gorilla glue PVC to it, but it fits tight a good over the pipe.

 

[Harman p-68a]

I second the softies I was shocked when I dumped a few bags of the timber heats in, my mess started in the stove, I vow I will never have anything but softies once all the timbers are gone.

 

[Phil Do's fire.]

Check out the nice white ash covering the inside of my black painted firebox. Hooray for softies!